What is viral blogging and how can it boost low-cost traffic?

What is viral blogging, you ask? Simply put, it’s a way to bring visitors to your site … inexpensively. It’s a method of crafting content that increases its likelihood of being shared many times over.

Michael Peggs is the founder of Marccx Media, a digital marketing agency specializing in SEO and Content Marketing. Before Marcxx, Peggs worked at Google in business development, forming digital media and advertising partnerships. He is also a blogger and podcaster, hosting the iTunes Top 10 New & Noteworthy Podcast You University. 

On one hand, you might believe that every single bit of content you write is intended to be shared and you’re not wrong. The difference is, to create a buzz-worthy post and have it cascade into a torrent of sharing, you’ll want to choose the right topics and format your post in very specific ways.

In other words, you should study viral blogging phenomena that have occurred in the past and apply those lessons to you work. So, let’s discuss some of the most successful content types and bring some perspective as to how you can give your content a better chance to go viral.

To get started, let’s lay down some of the ground rules:

1. Post your content regularly

The only way you’ll have a chance at building a loyal base of fans is to keep engagement levels high. You need to make sure visitors are coming back to read your latest news. HubSpot completed a study that showed the more blogs you wrote, the more traffic you received. Consistency is key.

Try to shoot for a minimum of once a week, and on the same day if possible. The idea is not to post too far apart where attention spans of your readers are lost … though not so close as to have them overwhelmed by the amount of content. To strike an effective balance and save on the workload, it would be best to schedule your content in advance. And when it comes to blog length, you should be writing at least 2,000 words according to Marccx Media.

2. Keywords in the title and the post

If your website runs on WordPress, you can use a plugin like WP Yoast SEO to check for the frequency of your keywords in your meta tags, like your Title and Description. Using keywords is one of the most cost effective method to ranking in the search engines. If you use the keyword “WordPress Theme” in your title tag, for example, then Google will start to rank you for the keyword “WordPress Theme.” Since 50,000 people per month search for WordPress Themes (according to the Google Keyword Planner), you’re likely to benefit from the tons of traffic directed toward blog posts about WordPress Themes. Viral blogging topic potential? Check!

3. Social Network Syndication and Hashtags.

The simple act of publishing your content probably won’t be enough to create a buzz on its own. If you have any social media accounts, or can connect with online influencers who have a large following, then you should try to share what you’re posting in addition to building social media followers. For viral blogging, building an audience online is one of the hardest things you can do, and you can encourage others to share your content by:

1. Giving People Free Publicity – People are often motivated to share posts that say good things about them or highlight a positive trait.
2. Asking for Shares – How many people did you ask to share your latest blog post? If the answer is zero or even just a few, you may want to get out of your comfort zone and start asking more people to share your work.
3. Inviting Collaboration – Involve influencers, followers and fans in the creation of a piece of content, and they have a vested interest to help promote it.

Remember, the use of hashtags can play an important role too. You’ll want to use the hashtag symbol in front of your keywords, or in front of any relevant topic or trending phrases you can think of with respect to the content. It’s all about building brand awareness through influencers, followers and fans! As more people see your content, the more shares the faster it spreads.